Thalia Grace, Lightning Queen
by mysterylucy
Summary: Half-way across the altlanic my plane drops out the sky. Luckily for me, the person sitting next to me is Thalia Grace


**Thalia Grace, Lightning Queen**

"This is your captain speaking. I would like to welcome to flight two-oh-one. Before take-off, there are a few safety procedures we need to run through to ensure your journey is a pleasant and enjoyable one..."

I rolled her eyes. The amount of 'heath and safety' crap I had to listen to on planes was almost unbearable. They always said the same thing- don't walk around when the 'seatbelts' sign is showing; don't be noisy on night-flights; and remember to keep your young children under control. Instead of listening to the Captains monotonous speech I decided to do something interesting and began gazing around me at my fellow passengers.

There where two ancient ladies sitting over by the window, listening intently to the Captain and nodding seriously. I wish someone would remind them that the captain couldn't see them. There was a father with a chubby blonde toddler- no sign of the mother. There was a young couple sitting next to me, holding hands. The lady was pregnant. And sitting on the other side of me was a teenage girl.

She was dressed entirely in black. Her long, thick hair was also black. It was obvious that she had attitude- it was in the way she sat, the way she moved, the way she ignored the captain entirely: choosing instead to put on earplugs and listen to rock music at full volume. Her fingernails where long and painted deep purple and tapped in time with the beat. Her head was titled back- her eyes closed. She was the picture of relaxation. It struck me how at home she seemed in a plane.

The Captain was reaching the end of his rant now. "...the toilets and are clearly signposted. On behalf of the crew, I would like to thank you for choosing British Airways."

The teenage girl sensed my eyes and turned. She paused her music and said,

"Hey."

"Hello." I replied. "I'm Amy McKenzie... what's your name?"

She tilted her head sideways as if to decide if I was worthy of knowing her name. "Thalia Grace." She decided. "Want an ear?" She offered one of her ear plugs to me. I took it gingerly, as if the deafening music could burn my fingers. When I plugged myself in, I realised that the music wasn't as loud as I had thought- and it wasn't rock music ether. It was folk. Beautiful voice and strumming guitar combined to create something that I didn't expect a goth/punk girl to be listening to.

She seemed to read my mind. "I share the Ipod with a friend." She smiled "She's absolutely _obsessed _with folk. Personally, I can't stand it!" And with that, she skipped the song with a couple of taps of her purple nails. I was going to ask what her friend was called, but then electric guitar filled my ears and instead I closed my eyes and relaxed.

We where half-way across the Atlantic when the plane hit turbulence. I was half-dozing in my seat, the ear plug still playing unnoticed. The plane rolled, and Thalia immediately jerked awake and yanked her earplug out. I stirred, and awoke slowly. Blinking sleep from my eyes, I felt the plane judder slightly. Thalia stood up, ignoring protests from staff. "Turbulence." She said, her eyes slightly narrowed. The speaker crackled and the captain's nervous voice was broadcasted throughout the plane, echoing Thalia's prediction.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we seem to have hit a patch of turbulence. There is nothing to worry about. Please continue like normal." Thalia snorted as the plane rocked again. She was still standing. "Nothing to worry about? This plane is about to crash!" She said loudly. I was amazed by her boldness- she was like no girl I had ever met. I admired her, wishing I had her guts. Not everybody met her words with the same admiration- in fact, the old ladies in by the window yelped loudly, and everyone (except me) looked at her in alarm. An air hostess came over to Thalia and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, Miss, but you cannot go around saying things like that. We are _not_ going to crash!"

And then the plane dropped out of the sky.

Chaos. All the engines had stopped. So step was the drop that everybody clutched their stomachs, feeling like they had left them high above. It was falling nose-first, so the room was at a crazy angle. Screams broke out. The lights flickered off to be replaced by red emergency lighting. My ear drums where going to burst! Through the windows I could see cloud rushing past, very quickly. The pressure in the cabin shot up and lots of things smashed. I could hardly see anything- and then Thalia stood up.

She looked powerful and terrifying. I shrank away from her. Her face was lit from underneath by the red emergency lighting, creating shadows that made her look ten years older. She stretched out her hands and cried out,

"Father! Lend me your mighty strength so that I may fly!" She also said something else in a language that seemed familiar. Then the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. The air felt although it was charged with electricity- my tongue like I had licked a battery. Her fingers flickered with sparks. She brought her arms out in front of her and yelled, as loud as she could, "STOP!"

The plane stopped. The jerk was so big, everything not attached fell over- including all the passengers. After the chaos of the flight, the silence was eerie. Thalia smiled, but the effort of keeping the plane up seemed to cause her pain. She made fists with her electrical fingers then snapped her hands open. There was a cough; then all the engines roared into life. I looked around at the carnage. Broken shards of glass shone from the floor, and a blue liquid was spilt down one of the seats. One of the old ladies was bleeding- it had been her glasses that had smashed.

I turned to Thalia. She lowered her arms from her sides and then literally flopped onto her chair. She looked exhausted, drained. All of that anger she had on her face had slid away- she just looked ill, now.

"You alright?" I asked, concerned.

She nodded weakly. "Don't feel so good." She moaned.

"You just saved the lives of everyone on this plane," I replied warmly. "Get some rest- you deserve it!"

Thalia nodded again, the curled up in a ball and promptly went to sleep. I picked up her Ipod from the floor and wiped some gloop off the screen. I went on 'Genre' and then on 'Folk'. It came up with, 'Annabeth's Music.' Thalia's friend was called Annabeth? Unusual name- come to think of it, Thalia is a pretty unusual name too. I chose a song by Ella Edmondson and settled down to listen.

Thalia woke up on my sixth song. She looked completely normal! I was amazed with the speed of her recovery- but then, nothing is ever normal when Thalia Grace is around. She yawned and stretched.

"Want an ear?" I joked, echoing what she had said half an hour ago. (Was it really only half an hour? Wow. How time does fly when you plane is dropping out of the sky!)

Thalia smiled. Then she seemed to realise something, and the smile was replaced with simple curiosity.

"You saw through the mist," She said. What mist, I thought. "That means you've met someone like me before, or you are one yourself..." She didn't particularly seem to be talking to me. She was thinking aloud. "Hmm... how old are you, Amy?"

It was the first time Thalia had said my name aloud. I liked it.

"Eleven and a half."

She smiled. "Would you be interested in attending a summer camp...?" She asked.

And that is the story of how Thalia not only saved my life, but turned it upside down. Turns out I was the daughter of Nyx- a minor goddess of the night. I love camp-half blood; I live their year round.

Thalia was my saviour.


End file.
